How good is 1Password? What features does it offer, and how does it implement security?
Should you trust this service? Find out everything in this ultimate 1Password review.
Our team has spent countless hours reviewing and ranking all the best password managers
available out there, so you can easily and confidently choose the best option without
wasting your time or money. In this video, we will review 1Password, one
of the most popular password managers around. We also show you how you can secure a massive
discount on 1Password as well as our number one password manager, so stay with us!
Don’t forget to press the like button if you enjoyed this video. And do subscribe for
more videos. And which password manager is your pick, and why? We will reply to all the
comments. With the coronavirus continuing to deal the
world with hefty blows, working from home has gradually become the new normal. And while
it was a little difficult to dump the traditional working system and adapt to a new one, most
people look to have finally settled in. Upwork, one of the world’s most popular
freelancing platforms, claims that over 40 percent of the US workforce now work from
home. It is also estimated that by 2025, about 22 percent of the American workforce will
be working from home. And with the pandemic refusing to go away, those numbers can only
go up. However, while working from home is mostly
a nice thing, mainly for flexible schedules and a custom working environment, you will
have to create many online accounts. And since it can be inconvenient to memorize many passwords,
most people resort to recycling passwords across many accounts.
According to a report, about 65 percent of internet users reuse passwords across numerous
websites. In fact, the average person reuses every password as many as 14 times and therein
lies the problem. It’s a good thing for cybercriminals when you reuse passwords as
it makes their job a lot easier. For just a few bucks per year, a password
manager helps you deal with everything related to password management.
This way, you can easily go about your work without being wary of cybercriminals looking
to spy on your passwords. With a password manager, you can easily store your passwords
and retrieve them without breaking a sweat. Apart from storing passwords, an excellent
password manager also helps you create new, strong passwords. This means you don’t need
to memorize or even create your passwords. Having said that, we must mention that the
market has become saturated with many password managers nowadays. So, it may be difficult
to know the reliable ones, especially if you are inexperienced.
In this review, we will look at five important facets of 1Password.
The first one is Features. This section will take a look at the range of basic and advanced
features that come with 1Password. Then we will cover Security. Since a password
manager is a tool designed primarily for protection, it will be interesting to see how 1Password
performs when it comes to security. Here, its security features and encryption are reviewed.
Apart from being effective, a good password manager also needs to be easy to use. In the
User-friendliness section, we will see how well 1Password understands this.
One of the first ways of recognizing a reliable company is by looking at how easily accessible
its support team is. Sooner or later, you are bound to have some issues with your password
manager, and no one can help you better than the company’s support team. In the Support
section, we will review 1Password’s performance in this regard.
In the Pricing section, we will discuss different subscription packages on offer and their prices.
Now that we’ve given you an idea of what to expect, let’s jump into the detailed
review. On a related note, during the past few months,
we have tested and reviewed all the top password managers available out there, so you can easily
and confidently choose the right option without wasting your time and money.
At the moment, we believe Keeper is the best password manager your money can buy -- thanks
to its excellent feature set, rock-solid security, and user-friendly interface. On top of that,
you have a range of reasonably-priced plans to choose from, giving you exceptional value
for money. The good news is: The Cyber Lab viewers can
get an exclusive 30 percent discount on Keeper. All you have to do is to click the official
link we have added in the description box down below, and this discount will be automatically
applied. But keep in mind that this offer is only available for a limited time, so act
fast! Our second-best pick is LastPass, while Dashlane
ranks third on our list. We have also added discounted links for both of these products
below. To kick off this review, we will start with
the variety of features offered by 1Password. As you would expect from a top password manager,
1Password comes with a wide range of advanced features.
The first unique feature you will find on the app is its multiple vaults, which means
every account will have many vaults. With this feature, your stored items can be categorized
for easier navigation and selection. You can store whatever you want in a vault, including
passwords, credit card details, secure documents, form fills, and more.
While vaults help users to securely organize their items, they are also useful for managing
permissions and sharing credentials. If you authorize a family member or team member to
access some credentials and data, you can gather all of the items in one vault. Then,
you will give vault’s access to the person. Needless to say, this adds convenience in
more ways than one. Another noteworthy feature we found on the
password manager is WatchTower. While this feature is actually common on many top password
managers, we still believe it’s special and extremely helpful. It alerts you if you
have a weak password or if you have reused a password you have used previously. The feature
also alerts you if your passwords are susceptible to attacks or if they have been breached before.
Furthermore, WatchTower helps you monitor expiry dates for your credit cards. This function
can be really helpful, especially if you like shopping online and do not like having to
renew payment details before making a purchase online.
However, bear in mind that most of Watchtower’s functions are turned off by default. So, if
you like them, try to activate them manually. Another excellent feature we would like to
mention is Travel Mode. If you would like to hide sensitive data when traveling or crossing
borders, it would do you a lot of good to have this feature handy. It helps you conveniently
conceal your important data, like your company's social media logins or encryption keys. Of
course, these are just examples, as the types of data you can hide are unlimited.
When you turn on Travel Mode on your account, you are allowed to mark certain pictures as
“Safe for Travel.” Pictures marked for this will remain visible on your device, while
others will stay hidden. To restore access to all your vaults, turn off the Travel Mode
feature, and you will be able to read all your files again.
One great thing about this function or mode is that nothing indicates its activeness when
it’s turned off. Therefore, no intruder will ever suspect that you have hidden some
files or data. Additionally, 1Password’s plan for corporate
bodies – called Teams – enables the manager to have Travel Mode's control on employees'
accounts. Obviously, this makes sense for business owners or admins who wouldn't want
sensitive company-related passwords or documents to be readable by authorities.
1Password is the only password manager that offers the Travel Mode feature. Therefore,
if you'd like to protect your sensitive data or information during your travels, you should
definitely consider 1Password. Lastly, 1Password allows you to get rid of
everything on your clipboard after a pre-set time frame. While this feature may seem insignificant,
it's actually super helpful. Hackers are always lurking in the dark, looking to spy on your
clipboard details and lift copied data, so the feature means they will always find nothing.
As a rule of thumb, you need to ensure the contents on your clipboard are cleared quickly.
However, the password manager allows you to extend the clearing period up to one and a
half minutes. This, along with other clearing time options,
shows how flexible this incredible password manager can be. Sometimes, you may need to
keep the contents on the clipboard longer, so it makes perfect sense.
With its incredible array of advanced features, we give 1Password 5 points out of 5 in the
features category. That takes us to probably the most important
section of this review – security. In one of its statements, 1Password claims
that security is not only a feature; it's the foundation on which the company is built.
Judging from everything we saw during our tests, we think 1Password is keeping its promise
pretty well until now. If you are still skeptical about the security
performance of 1Password, we’d like to tell you a few things. To start with, the password
manager has AICPA SOC 2 Type 2 certification, which indicates secure and safe data management.
The certification means that 1Password has undergone comprehensive audits and its security
procedures and policies have been thoroughly documented.
Furthermore, 1Password uses AES 256-bit encryption, which is probably the most reliable form of
encryption in the world. The encryption is almost impossible to hack, which explains
why some of the biggest security outfits rely on it. Your master password is the access
key to the encryption, which means you must protect it by all means.
Another reason why we believe 1Password is secure is its zero-knowledge policy, which
means the company doesn’t track, sell, or store your data. Besides, the password manager
is recognized for being an extremely safe platform, providing in-depth defense for in-transit
data. In another move to further strengthen security
and prevent cybercriminals from intercepting data in transit, the company has adopted an
SRP protocol, which protects secret keys, master passwords, and every other data.
However, even if this fails, the company has a plethora of other fortifications, which
means data breaches are very unlikely with this company. Apart from the AES 256-bit encryption,
the company also uses two-factor authentication to protect your data.
In addition, there is PBKDF2 key-strengthening, which eliminates the chances of brute force
attempts against your master password. To add an extra security layer, 128-bit secret
keys are adopted for all your devices. Other impressive security features the password
manager offers include phishing protection and auto-lock. And as we mentioned earlier,
there is a powerful Watchtower feature, which warns you when you use weak and recycled passwords.
It also provides dark-web monitoring to guarantee that your passwords have not been previously
compromised. In this section, 1Password scores 4.5 out
of 5 score, slightly missing out on the full marks.
The next section focuses on the user-friendliness of 1Password.
Generally, 1Password has a very intuitive interface across all its apps, making it easy
for users to interact with it. Whether you are using macOS, Windows, Android,
or iOS, what you need to do at every point is clearly indicated. It’s simple to import
passwords and login details from other password managers and web browsers. Data management
is also made convenient and simple with the multiple, easy-to-access vaults.
With the separate vaults, you can easily put certain items into different categories. For
instance, you can put everything related to work in one vault and everything related to
the family in another. Everything is easy to read and find, including
the significant information provided by Watchtower. It’s also easy to activate the Travel Mode,
which helps you to hide company’s important and sensitive pieces of data, like social
media logins and encryption keys while you are crossing borders. It’s also easy to
implement other features like clipboard clearing. However, it’s a little awkward to update
passwords, especially since it needs to be done one after the other. This somehow takes
away from the efficiency of the Watchtower, especially if dozens of weak passwords are
detected. Nonetheless, this is a little downside in an extremely functional package.
Another impressive thing that aids user-friendliness on this app is its biometric login option
for mobile phones. This feature makes the app super-easy to use. Apart from that, the
mobile application comes with its own built-in browser, which has a crisp and clean interface.
However, it must be noted that the mobile version is a little less flexible compared
to the desktop app. For instance, it provides just one-set clipboard wiping period rather
than the wide range of clearing times provided by the desktop application. But most of the
limitations are minor, so you should have a decent experience with the mobile app as
well. Moving on, 1Password has a straightforward
login process. When you would like to retrieve a stored password, simply visit that site,
and then tap on the browser extension that shows up in the login box. All the account
logins that are available for that website will then appear for your easy selection.
1Password also offers a browser extension, which mostly allows users to use their information
on-demand. However, it can also help you create new passwords if you sign up for a new account
or update an old one. In the event that you need to store more data, like important documents
or credit card details, you will need the mobile app or the desktop program.
Again, 1Password performs brilliantly in this category, scoring 4.5 out of 5.
That takes us to the manager’s pricing structure. Does 1Password have affordable plans? Let’s
find out. First of all, we’d like to note that 1Password
doesn’t offer a free plan. However, the company provides a risk-free 14-day free trial
for most of their plans. And you’d be relieved to know that, unlike most free trial offers,
1Password doesn’t need your credit card information to sign up for a free trial.
You’d also be glad to know that the free trial is not limited, allowing you to access
significant features like Travel Mode, Watchtower, and the vaults.
However, it must be said that 1Password is quite expensive, especially when you compare
it to most top password managers on the market. However, we don’t think that should be surprising,
given its incredible reputation and the wide range of features built into it.
The plans are divided into two categories - Personal & Family, and Team & Business.
The Personal plan costs $2.99/month and the Family plan costs $4.99/month. The major difference
between the two is that the Family package comes with more family-oriented features,
including licenses for up to 5 people. For the Team & Business category, there are
three plans – Teams, Business, and Enterprise. While the first two cost $3.99 and $7.99 per
month, respectively, the Enterprise plan doesn’t come with a fixed price. It’s made for big
companies that require onboarding programs and custom training. Therefore, they will
need to obtain a custom quote for this service. Unfortunately, 1Password only scores 2.5 in
this category, as it lacks a free plan and its packages are somewhat expensive.
We’ll now move on to our last category, that is Customer Support.
1Password is one of the most reputable companies in the business when it comes to customer
support. It offers support via email, Twitter, and a support forum, which is highly active
and interactive. However, the company doesn’t offer chat
or phone support. Still, there is no reason to worry as the support it provides via the
existing means is detailed, helpful, and prompt. Apart from the highly efficient support channels,
the company also maintains a comprehensive FAQ page, which contains detailed answers
to most of the problems you can ever face while using the manager. Moreover, the forum
is searchable, and you can easily type and find answers to your questions.
If you are unable to find answers on the FAQ page, the company offers effective support
via Twitter, email, and support forum. However, we’d like to see chat or phone support in
the future, as some issues can be really hard to resolve through the currently available
channels. For people who are subscribed to business
plans and higher, there is VIP support. But if you are a regular subscriber, email support
may be your best bet. Meanwhile, the email support is not instantaneous.
In the customer support category, 1Password scores 4 marks out of 5. While the available
support channels are relatively fast and helpful, we couldn’t look past the lack of phone
or chat support. So, that’s the end of our comparison.
Overall, 1Password is one of the most popular password managers, and it hasn’t become
one by accident. With its array of powerful features, impermeable security, and a clean
user interface, the company definitely earned its reputation.
While there is no denying that there is room for improvement, the password manager is definitely
up there among the best. If you’d like to see our pick for best password
manager, see the description box down below. We hope you enjoyed the video. Thank you for
staying with us. As always, don’t forget to like and subscribe before you go.
Now, we would like to hear from you. Let us know about your favorite password manager
service? And check out our rundown of the best password
management services.